RIKERS ISLAND

A CRISIS AT RIKERS ISLAND JAILS

UNDER PRESSURE, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced an emergency plan meant to provide relief to Rikers Island. The island hosts eight of the 10 jails managed by the New York City Department of Correction and has been in crisis since the beginning of the pandemic, with sta shortages exacerbating conditions that were already infamously poor. Here’s a look at some of the issues facing the facilities, some of the proposed fixes and other benchmark data by the numbers. – Caitlin Dorman

5,839

Average daily population for all New York City jail facilities in August 2021

1,789

Department of Correction sta ers who were out sick on Sept. 14, 2021 (out of 8,370 total)

4

Years since New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has visited Rikers Island

18

Number of incarcerated people who missed their scheduled proceedings on Sept. 14, 2021 because of lack transportation, according to The City

24

Consecutive hours some correction o icers are working with sta shortages

600

Number of new Department of Correction o icers the city has committed to hiring

RIKERS ISLAND JAILS RIKERS ISLAND JAILS

250

The minimum number of people who City Hall could immediately release from Rikers to serve the rest of their short sentences on work release, according to The Legal Aid Society

400

Approximate number of people at Rikers who would be eligible for release after Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the Less is More Act, according to The New York Times

A Q&A with Assembly Member Jessica GonzálezRojas

What did you see during your visit to Rikers? We saw countless men being piled on top of each other, laying in their own urine and feces and people not getting the care that they needed. There was a transgender woman who was placed in a male facility and not getting her hormones or medical care. Countless people were missing out on their court dates because there was simply no one to drive them. These are people who are being detained pretrial, so it was horrific and inhumane. The absolutely worst moment was when I was talking to someone who was incarcerated, and their cellmate jumped up on the bars and attempted suicide. Everything honestly happened in slow motion for me. I called the corrections o icers, and I was pulled away. It was traumatic. I just spoke to many dozens of people. I have nine pages of notes, I’ll put it that way – of people’s phone numbers to call found loved ones, parents of their children, mothers, it’s, it’s just gutwrenching.

You’ve been to other correctional facilities in the state. How does Rikers compare? I’ve been to Bedford Hills. I’ve been to Rikers, I’ve been to a juvenile detention center in the Bronx. And I have spent time at juvenile detention centers across the city in the past. I’m used to seeing these horrid conditions, but this was this was … it’s almost indescribable, but I’d just have to say it’s a crisis on our hands. To be honest, my heart goes out to all the workers, the health workers, the sta .

10

Deaths at Rikers in 2021

5

People at Rikers who died by suicide in 2021

2027

When Rikers is supposed to shut down

What can elected o icials do about this? The mayor has a clause that he enacted during COVID to reduce the population that he can continue to enact in this crisis. Gov. Hochul has the (Less is More Act). She could sign it today. (Editor's note: Hochul signed the bill on Sept. 17, a few days after this interview.) It was passed by both the Assembly and the Senate back in June, so there’s absolutely no excuse. That would release people who are incarcerated on minor violations of their parole, things like lateness for a parole meeting or lateness for curfew. We need to press our prosecutors to stop asking for cash bail.

What problems did you have when you went to Rikers on Sept. 13? The mayor’s o ice tried to, quote-unquote, schedule a tour on another day. They ended up breaking us into groups. – Zach Williams